Shared data systems allow users to access copies of document and work offline. Eventually users need to return documents that have been changed to the system. Changes are merged with the stored version residing in the system when the document is submitted. Generally, such systems merge documents by replacing the stored content with the changed content (i.e., value setting). A change to the title and synopsis of the document by a single user may be safely merged with the stored version. Similarly, there is no problem when a first user submits a document with a modified title and a second user submits a document with a modified synopsis. However, the scenario becomes more complicated when multiple users access the same document and separately make changes. The first user to submit an edited version of document with a title change has no trouble, but a conflict arises when a second user attempts to submit version of the same document also containing a title change. The second user must decide which title change to keep.
Conventional conflict detection and resolution in shared data systems generally use a basic content comparison to identify conflicting changes between first document submitted and the second document submitted, particularly in value setting systems. The lack of an exact match in the field value may not always mean a conflict exists, but basic content comparisons will prompt the second user to resolve a conflict every time the changed content from the second document differs from the changed content in the first document. Each conflict that a user must resolve takes time and presents opportunities for users to make inadvertently keep or discard the wrong data. User may also experience uncertainty and frustration when trying to decide how to resolve a conflict. It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present invention has been made. Although relatively specific problems have been discussed, it should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein should not be limited to solving the specific problems identified in the background.